A Boddam pensioner charged £1,400 for botched roof repairs that began leaking after just two days has praised roofers who completed the job for free.
Valerie Wright said she could not believe her eyes when water came flooding down her walls only days after her “repair”.
While the contractor said he would “fix” the repair again – the plucky pensioner said she wanted her money back.
That’s when Mrs Wright claims, the roofer stopped taking her calls.
Her son Gavin Wright – who lives 500 miles away in the south of England – turned to Facebook to get help for his mum.
Huge support after botched repair
Among the hundreds of messages, Donald Stewart from DS Roofing and Property Maintenance stepped in and fixed the roof for free.
But, it is not all good news, as Mrs Wright has been told her whole roof now needs to be repaired.
While DS Roofing has offered to do it as cheaply as possible, Mrs Wright is facing a huge bill when she has already used most of her savings on the repair.
She said: “I used a website that I thought would recommend a reputable tradesman to do the job. The roofer came out to price the job and because of other much-higher quotes I had had I was delighted when it was ‘only’ £900 to begin with.
“When the roofer was on the job he said four slates were missing and it would be another £500. I paid him, and off he went.”
Mrs Wright wrote a glowing review on the tradesman’s website – only to be horrified when a few days later the unthinkable happened.
She added: “He left on Thursday, and on Saturday there was a deluge of rain and the water was running down the walls in my kitchen like never before.
“He was here for three afternoons, and I now know that he used a bit of felt, a bit of plywood, and the four tiles.”
She continued: “The roofer dropped in to hand over a receipt for the money, and he said he would repair it, but I said ‘no, I wanted a refund as it was such a terrible job.”
The same day, Mrs Wrights’s son found out about it and posted on Facebook to get help.
That is when Donald Stewart of DS Roofing and Property Maintenance stepped up.
Mr Stewart said: “I saw the message on Facebook – and knew we could help. Two of the boys did the job and we had the equipment to repair it.
‘No trouble for us to do a repair’
“No one wants to see anyone vulnerable in this position and we were able to help.”
He continued: “As a business, we started with nothing, and people have supported us, so we like to give a bit back.
“It was no trouble for us to do a repair.”
However, the full roof is now needing to be repaired, and Mrs Wright needs help to get it done.
She and her husband were RAF veterans, and she hoped that one of the charities that help older people or former military would help with the full repair cost.
But at the moment, she is still waiting for someone to phone her back.